[<Breaking News: Successful Raid on the Tower of Hellnest, an S-Rank Dungeon>]
[…Hunter Lim Chang-joo of the Hunter Association, who participated in the raid, commented, “I couldn’t have made it this far without those who fought alongside me.” He especially spared no praise for Hunter Baek Tae-beom.
The number of casualties has exceeded 100, and the injured are currently receiving free treatment at Hansung Hospital.
…Meanwhile, the replay of the Hellnest Tower raid video is available on Yoo Ji-won’s channel.
Reporter Lee Dae-gi [email protected]]
[Comments]
[Anonymous432: The replay video cuts off weirdly at the end, so I don’t trust it. What if they’re lying about clearing it? It doesn’t make sense for just ten people to defeat an S-rank dungeon boss in the first place.]
[Anonymous8567: Seems like this article is proof that Korea’s hunters are still strong, lol. There were only two S-ranks and they still cleared it—that’s insane!!!]
[PeriPeri: I’m really curious about the rewards, hehe… Aren’t they gonna tell us? Tch…]
[Anonymous980: Damn, a lot of people died. Wasn’t like this during the last S-rank one, right? Must’ve been way harder this time.]
***
“Hyung, how long do I have to stay in bed…?”
“Not until that IV is completely finished.”
“……”
Baek Tae-beom pouted, but I firmly told him no as I scrolled through the news. Most headlines reported the successful raid on the Tower of Hellnest, with some comparing it to previous S-rank dungeons.
[On the Danger of S-Rank Dungeons… Countless Traps in the Tower of Hellnest]
[Ten Hunters Successfully Conquer an S-Rank Dungeon]
While reading, I caught Baek Tae-beom trying to tug on the IV pole to make the drip flow faster. I lightly smacked the back of his hand and turned my eyes back to the phone screen. I opened the most recent article.
***
[The Power of an Unmeasurable-Rank Hunter… Support Role?]
[The successful raid of the S-Rank dungeon Tower of Hellnest is making headlines. In footage released by Hunter Yoo Ji-won, who also streams, Hunter Choi Ga-hyeon—classified as unmeasurable rank—can be seen avoiding the frontlines and taking a passive approach to combat. Some are now speculating that his role might actually be support, especially considering Hunter Baek Tae-beom’s sudden increase in strength.
…Meanwhile, Hunter Choi Ga-hyeon did succeed in clearing the Tower of Hellnest alongside Hunter Baek Tae-beom.
Reporter Park Woo-yeon [email protected]]
[Comments]
[Anonymous659: Baek Tae-beom’s sword changed—couldn’t that be Hunter Choi Ga-hyeon’s ability? He used a worn-out sword for years, and then suddenly it’s all different. Looks sus, lol.]
[Anonymous3144: Come to think of it, that bastard Beom’s behavior got weird too, right? What if that’s his skill? Like, straight-up mind control?]
[Anonymous4002: In the video, Baek Tae-beom’s always smiling when he’s near Choi Ga-hyeon. Creepy as hell. Definitely not support—it’s brainwashing.]
[MallangNuri: Still, Choi Ga-hyeon’s attack style was strange. When he swings his staff, weird stuff drops out. What the hell is that?]
[SeccomTunaSweetNeccom: One thing’s for sure—he doesn’t measure up to the other S-ranks.]
There were all kinds of comments. Among them, one stood out the most.
[Comments]
[Anonymous6489: He’s just acting all important with zero actual skill, isn’t he? LOLLLLL]
There was no way to refute that. It was true—I lacked the offensive capabilities and skills compared to the other hunters. This dungeon made that painfully clear. Being next to Baek Tae-beom didn’t magically solve everything.
Still, the part about me brainwashing Baek Tae-beom was… an amusing twist.
Whatever my expression looked like, Baek Tae-beom, lying neatly in bed, spoke up.
“You’re not reading weird articles or comments, are you?”“Why would I read that kind of stuff?”
“Because if you did, you’d probably go, ‘Ah, I really do suck,’ and then start digging a hole out of depression. So I hope you didn’t.”
Wow, this kid could read minds now? Amazing, Baek Tae-beom.
But honestly, the criticism didn’t sting as much as expected. I had already anticipated it. What I needed was more strength. Maybe not something overwhelmingly unique—but at least enough to stop someone like Kang Si-hoo.
And the biggest mystery of all— My Constellation title had changed from One Who Seeks to Escape Destruction to One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction. What was this, a game character going through evolution or a class change?
If there was one explanation that made sense, it came from Apollo.
[CH.Private/One More Dazzling Than the Sun: A Constellation’s title is the clearest reflection of that Constellation’s nature.]
[CH.Private/One More Dazzling Than the Sun: On the bright side, it might mean your mindset is growing. Unlike us, you’re a Constellation and a human—an unstable existence.]
[CH.Private/One More Dazzling Than the Sun: If you had truly wanted to run from destruction, you would’ve been given a name like Coward Who Flees, or something like that.]
‘But is that really all there is to it?’
I thought about the one skill I’d never used. It seemed time to experiment with it.
I leaned back deeper into the chair and looked at Baek Tae-beom, who was itching to get up. Visibly, his injuries looked mostly healed. According to the doctors, he could resume normal activity as soon as the IV drip was done.
S-Rank hunters really were something else.
I gently patted Baek Tae-beom on the head and said what needed to be said about what lay ahead.
“Don’t you want to beat the crap out of Kang Si-hoo?”
Baek Tae-beom stayed silent for a moment before letting out a hollow chuckle.
“Do you even need to ask?”
“Your reaction’s more aggressive than usual.”
“Just thinking about that bastard grabbing your hair makes me fucking sick. I want to kill him.”
Killing him might be a bit of a problem. As absurd as it sounded, Kang Si-hoo was the protagonist, after all. Not that such titles really mattered anymore.
“But Kang Si-hoo isn’t our enemy.”
“I know. The one we need to beat the shit out of is that thing—Angrboda—that’s using him as a host. Still, can’t I punch him at least once?”
Baek Tae-beom spoke with a vicious edge, then glanced sideways at me when I didn’t answer, gauging my reaction.
“I can’t?”
Of course not.
…But damn, I was really too soft when it came to Baek Tae-beom.
“Anyway, I came here after meeting with Jin Ha-yoon.”
“That guy who sucker punched me?”
I nodded, recalling the image of Jin Ha-yoon locked in confinement. Though calling it ‘locked up’ was a stretch. Jin Ha-yoon wasn’t restrained in any way. If he wanted to, he could have stood up, opened the door, and walked right out. The door hadn’t even been locked.
But he just sat there, entirely void of will, not responding to anything. Even clapping right in front of his face elicited nothing. It was like he’d been brainwashed, just like Kang Si-hoo. According to Lee Myung-won, Jin had already been in that state when they brought him in.
“Originally, the plan was to get information from Jin Ha-yoon before making a move. But it looks like he’s afflicted with some kind of status effect that even other hunters can’t cure. For now, we’ve got nothing.”
“No word from Gongmyeong either?”
“None. Looks like they’ve already discarded Jin Ha-yoon as a sacrificial piece. And if I had to guess… well, actually, it’s not even a guess anymore.”
I didn’t stop Baek Tae-beom as he started to sit up.
“Kang Si-hoo’s the Guildmaster of Gongmyeong.”
“Jin Ha-yoon said so himself.”
“Then it all fits. The way it looked like Gongmyeong’s leadership position was vacant—it was all intentional. If they were plotting something behind the scenes, being a public figure would have been a disadvantage.”
“Then how do you explain what Gongmyeong’s been doing this whole time?”
Baek Tae-beom posed the core question.
“Gongmyeong basically acts like a nonprofit. Sure, they clear dungeons, but most of their efforts go toward charity work and helping underprivileged children. If Angrboda’s using Kang Si-hoo to manipulate Gongmyeong, then how do we make sense of all that?”
“That’s what we need to figure out now.”
“But you said Gongmyeong hasn’t said anything…”
I pressed my finger to Baek Tae-beom’s lips. His startled expression made me smile as I leaned in and spoke softly.
“Where else do you think Kang Si-hoo might be connected?”
“Connected…?”
“A guild shady enough to fabricate identities and pull off illegal shit. Where would that be?”
Baek Tae-beom narrowed his eyes, then said, like a light had just gone on.
“No way.”
“Yeah. It’s definitely connected to Red Apple.”
And if I was right, that connection explained why Red Apple was still managing to stay afloat. In the original timeline, Baek Tae-beom had used Red Apple for his own ends—but now, it was Kang Si-hoo who was exploiting them.
I said firmly,
“We have to make Kim Seong-jae cough up everything he knows. Then we’ll infiltrate.”
“Kim Seong-jae… the guy you told me to leave alone before.”
“That’s the one.”
“He’s a Red Apple spy, isn’t he?”
“Exactly.”
“But how are we supposed to get him to talk?”
I tapped my fingers together with a light clack. A grin naturally spread across my face.
“For guys like that, nothing beats brute force. I already got permission from Lee Myung-won. Tae-beom, think you can move?”
